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Takeover whispers boosted long-standing target Shire to the top of the FTSE 100 as the pharma firm’s shares rallied on hopes of a mega deal bringing shareholders an early Christmas present.

Several big pharma names from the US and Europe are rumoured to be circling the firm with a price tag in excess of £50 per share mooted on the market.

Its shares slipped as low as 2.4pc at lunchtime when it revealed that its treatment for rare cases of Hunter syndrome had stumbled in a late-stage clinical trial but the firm quickly recovered, being carried higher by City chatter that prompted deal-hungry investors to pile into the firm.

Shire had accepted a £32bn swoop by US rival AbbVie in 2014 before it...